Wolves kill 9 people, mostly children, in separate attacks in India: “Our children are not safe”

Forest rangers in India have deployed drones to track wolves after nine people, mostly children, were killed by the animals in recent weeks, officials said Sunday.

The latest victim was a 10-month-old girl who was mauled by a wolf in Bahraich district of Northern Uttar Pradesh State on October while she was sleeping next to her mother, he said.

The child was later found dead in the field.

The day before, a five-year-old boy snapped at the sight of his mother outside the house.

This child, received anointing in the field of sugar, died on the way to the hospital.

Authorities said the attack followed a similar pattern seen across a cluster of towns that reported similar incidents since September.

The latest death increases the toll from suspected wolf attacks in Bahraich to at least nine in three months, according to police, forest officials and media reports.

The victims included an elderly couple.

Forest chief Ram Singh Yadav told AFP on Sunday that management had sent drones, camera traps and snipers to the area.

“The behavior of the wolves seems to have changed. Of late, they seem to be more active during the day, which is a miracle,” said Y Israel.

Some forest officials said that these animals were seen with unusual courage.

Bahraich saw a The same wave of attacks Last year, a pack of wolves killed at least nine people, including a nine-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl, and injured several others. At that time, the authorities warned people against sleeping in the open or wandering around at night only, but some houses in the area do not have indoor toilets, so residents can relieve themselves at night.

The grassy plains of the Bahraich district lie about 30 miles south of the border with Nepal, where dense forests cover the Himalayan foothills.

Experts say that wolves only attack people or livestock as a last resort when they are starving, choosing dangerous prey such as small warthogs.

Most of India’s roughly 3,000 wolves survive outside protected areas, often in close proximity to humans.

The animals, also known as plains wolves and listed as endangered, are smaller than the strong Jelalayan wolf and can be mistaken for other species such as foxes.

Residents in Bahraich say they are now living in fear of deadly wolves roaming near their homes.

“Our children are not even safe inside the house,” said another person.

“We just want the attacks to stop.”

While being attacked by big cats as well elephants are rare in India, wolf attacks are not uncommon. More than 300 people were killed inside Tiger attack In the country between 2018 and 2022.

Experts say that the expansion of towns and cities in wilderness areas, reducing natural habitats and hunting grounds for many species, is the biggest factor behind population growth – crowding.